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I can't figure out how this book slipped by me back in 2007; a book that connects the literary dots from ancient times to the present. In retrospect the 2008 economic collapse drove me to find out who was at fault. A hidden history of secret societies, scams, occults and those who belonged to them became manifest. What a revelation! I have been reading science fiction and comic books, along with many classics such as George Orwell's 1984, for over 35 years. My research into the economic crash revealed to me that authors like Orwell and Alous Huxley's "Brave New World" are not what they appear to be on the surface but instead a warning! As Christopher Knowles has revealed, many of the greatest fictional stories come from the pen of an authors real life knowledge. Look past or through the 'Magic Eye' art and watch as another image appears. For those who read Marvel's "Secret Invasion", maybe the real message was more cryptic. It was released during the 2008 election. What came to my mind was the Skrull faced promo post card that read "Embrace Change". Prophetic, Coincidence or planned? After reading this book you will want to know more and perhaps connect your own dots. I hope Knowles has a volume two in the works.Read full review
I bought this book as a big fan of Joseph Michael Linsner's artwork, but what I received was so much more ! Author Chris Knowles takes us on a tour through comic book heroes, and traces their roots far back into history, fantasy pulps, and mythology ! He breaks down the different types of comic book heroes' personalities and psyches, and shows us where those archetypes actually originated in Mythology and Fantasy history ! With chapters on creators like Kirby and Alan Moore, Gaiman, and Alex Ross, he really keeps the interest of todays comic reader, as well as old time fans, with coverage of different Mythologies, writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, and more ! From Harry Houdini, to Bram Stoker, from H. P. Lovecraft to Robert E. Howard, this book has something interesting for every generation of comic book, pulp, or fantasy reader ! And despite being over 220 pages, it somehow left me wanting even more in depth discussion ! Oh, and did I mention the AWESOME illustrations by Joseph M. Linsner ?!?Read full review
This book attempts to show the interrelationship between comics and the occult traditions and beliefs handed down and reworked over many generations. You do find an abundance of information on superheroes from their original creation through their reinventions over generations to fit the needs of the period. Their authors and visual creators are paired with whatever occult influence that can be mustered. The esoteric information is also delivered in convenient bite sized chucks so as to not be too heady. I do get the feeling that some of the information is more like jam on toast. That is to say the view is this was going on at this time in the esoteric world therefore when this superhero was doing this at the same (or earlier) time it was because of this. This is post hoc reasoning in most cases. Still there is evidence of great correlation between many of the esoteric (and exoteric) happenings in the real world and the comic world. The truth seems to lie somewhere between logic and imaginations evidence. The esoteric path is a hidden one, not usually displayed before the masses. But if a disciple of an arcane viewpoint wanted to preach to (or control) our thinking, the comic book would be an ideal format. Like so many conspiracy theories of elite cabals secretly controlling the masses, the idea is to connect the dots. The problem is here there is not enough glue to make the thesis work. There is a framework, but it doesn't go all the way through the second semester of the last year of grad school. The professors would be able to demolish it at this point. Would the writers of the early Superman choose a look-alike to Aliester Crowley (Lex Luthor) as a chief villain because they thought that kids in mid- 20th century would make a psychic connection to the dawn of the 20th century mage? Maybe, maybe not. There is a ton of circumstantial evidence here and like Fox Mulder, I want to believe. Comic books are a place where you have to suspend your disbelief to appreciate the worlds you can enter. Ergo, this is a fun read and even I, though I have pretty good chops when it comes to both subjects (thus, in part, proving the authors case)found some new nuggets of information on both planes of thought presented here. Besides the world still uses a lot of fallacious post hoc reasoning despite the cringes on the faces of the philosophers. Read it for fun....P.S. If you liked this book, you might also like Mutants and Mystics.Read full review
This is a very cool book. It explains the comic book superheroes in the occult archetypes. I can highly recommend this book for all comic book fans that are also followers of the occult.
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